Part of the Philippine Retirement Authority’s (PRA) marketing strategy is to participate in international expositions for and about the senior community. Our people exert a lot of effort looking for these events, especially in Europe, to increase our share of foreign retirees from that continent.
Earlier this year, we discovered this Expo50Plus in Zurich and immediately signed up for a booth. Thank goodness we did, as it turned out to be the best expo we have ever attended. The venue made it so. It was right in the middle of the entrance lobby of the city’s Central Station, giving all exhibitors maximum exposure to foot traffic.
Our PRA booth had the perfect location, as we were right along the corridor for arriving and departing train passengers. Naturally, we were always swamped with visitors, many of whom were curious about our Retirement Visa and our country’s healthcare facilities. Switzerland’s “golden agers” are very particular about these facilities, especially because they are aware of and like the fact that the Philippines is also the world’s number one source of caregivers.
What made it even easier for us to promote our Retirement Visa Program was the support of two interpreters we hired for the occasion. Although English is commonly used in Switzerland, the seniors prefer to converse using the German language.
Many of those who came to our booth have indicated their desire to apply for our Retirement Visa, as they like our country’s low cost of living, among many other reasons. A lot of them told me that when they retire, they would be receiving a monthly pension of anywhere from the equivalent of $3000 to $5000. I told them they could be living extravagantly here in our country with that amount of pension. The more they got excited about relocating to the Philippines.
Even with a crowd of curious Expo guests continuously swarming our booth, I took the time to check what the other booths in the Expo were offering. Near our booth was one that promoted Breast Cancer Awareness, and what made it interesting was the display of a giant-sized breast, which many visitors used as a background for their selfies.
I walked further and saw something unique, a booth that looked like a burger stand. But as I went closer to it, I realized that it was selling medical equipment commonly used by seniors, like sphygmomanometers, pulse rate and heart rate monitors, oximeters, etc. It certainly was a clever way of attracting seniors because when they go around the expo venue, they most likely will feel hunger pangs and will be drawn towards the booth, thinking that fast food is being sold there. They then can’t miss seeing the medical gadgets for sale. Hats off to the person who thought of that idea.
Another booth sold Keto Diet Programs. I was watching how their customers were handled — first, they were given a thorough physical exam, after which the booth administrator made computations on body mass against height and weight, eventually coming up with a program specially designed for the customer at hand. I know this Diet Program is very effective because my youngest son had one crafted for him years ago, and he lost almost 30 pounds.
There was also an interesting booth selling mechanized wooden beds. As a young boy in Cebu, I’ve seen wooden beds used by our maids, and my siblings and I have played on those beds many times. Feeling the hard planks of wood on my back, I always wondered how our maids would have a restful sleep on those beds. But from this booth at the Expo, I learned that the mechanized wooden beds they were selling were the best cure for those suffering from chronic backaches. In fact, I tried lying down on the bed on display, and it was really comfortable and soothing.
But the booth that really made an impact on me, albeit negatively, was the one marked EXIT. The booth was offering services related to Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS), which is allowed in Switzerland. When contracted by anybody, they would prepare for an event, much like a celebration, attended by family and friends of the person concerned, and after the joyful rituals, the person would then be injected with the lethal drug.
Chatting with the booth administrator, I learned that they recently had a customer, a very popular singer in Switzerland, who lost her voice to cancer of the throat and was suffering from it. She contracted their services. The singer specified that the “farewell” party should be fun and participated in by her family members and friends, and that they serve her favorite chocolates before she would be given the life-ending injection, and that’s exactly what happened. I, quite frankly, didn’t know how to react to that story.
There were many other interesting booths at the event, which I can no longer include here due to space constraints. But I have to say that aside from a lot of learning from Zurich’s Expo50Plus, it was the most productive exposition PRA ever participated in.
For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com
